She moved through the fair
by cassiemortmain
Summary: A Sybil x Tom one shot inspired by the beautiful, traditional Irish song. Modern AU - Sybil and Tom are engaged and living in Dublin. They enjoy a day out, with a surprising ending for Tom….


"Tom, let's go to this – it sounds as if it would be a lot of fun! We could get some great ideas for the flat…"

Tom took the flyer Sybil was handing him for the Vintage Fashion and Decor Fair in Dun Laoghaire the following Sunday. "Does this mean we need to get a lot of fancy stuff to impress your parents?" he teased her. "Ha ha - you know I don't care about that, silly. Anyway, Mum is coming around to the idea of us, I think…." she smiled. Tom nodded. "OK, love – the weather is looking good for the weekend and we can drive down for the day. Will be nice to spend some time by the coast again - we haven't really been down there since we moved to Dublin and I've been wanting to show it to you."

They got up on Sunday and took the road south from the city centre to Dun Laoghaire, pulling into the car park of the Royal Marine Hotel around lunchtime. There was quite a crowd there already and Sybil looked around excitedly. "I don't know what to see first…. oh look Tom, there's a sign for retro makeovers – that would be really cool, I'd love to try it. Come with me?"

Tom followed Sybil over to a large stall with two ladies behind the counter, already dressed in vintage finery. "Hello my dear, what would you like to wear today?" Sybil thought for a moment and then said – "Maybe an outfit from the early 20th century? I've always been fascinated by the fashion from that era, where women were just starting to break free of the constraints of the Victorian age and choosing for themselves how their lives should turn out." "I think we have something perfect for you – come with me," said one of the ladies, and she took Sybil away behind a curtain….

"Tom, Tom! What do you think?" Sybil came out to show herself off and Tom gasped. Sybil's slim fitting evening dress in black and gold suited her perfectly and as she spun excitedly on her heel he could see her black hair, usually flung over her shoulder in a messy plait, had been twisted into an elaborate chignon. "Could this be more perfect?" Tom could only shake his head - seeing her in that outfit gave him the strangest sense of déjà-vu – he was sure he had seen her looking like that before, although he could not think when. "You look gorgeous – I'm proud to be your escort for the day, milady," he joked.

Sybil was a bit ahead of him as they started to make their way around the various stalls, looking at the vintage clothes and homewares. He watched her charming everyone around her, as she always did, with her beauty, her sincere interest in other people and her ability to build rapport with pretty much everyone she met. He spotted more than one young man looking after her as she passed by, and he felt a thrill to know it was him she would go home with later on.

After a couple of hours they stopped for a cocktail at the "speakeasy" which had been set up in the hotel bar for the fair, and had fun telling each other stories of the people they saw, something they enjoyed doing wherever they went, and which usually ended with them retelling their own story to each other to remind themselves how lucky they were. Eventually, Sybil yawned and said "OK, I think I'm ready to go home now. Better go and give these clothes back or I might be tempted to take them with me! Meet me at the carpark?"

On the way home, the evening star was rising. They didn't say much – both were tired but happy after their day out. Sybil looked over at him as he drove them home – "Tom, thanks so much for coming with me today. It's not that long till our wedding and seeing all those beautiful things made me think about setting up our home together properly. I am so excited about that, darling."

They went to bed early and after some tender, dreamy lovemaking Tom fell asleep with Sybil cuddled to his chest, her favourite sleeping position. He started to dream and he saw himself at a stately home at some time in the past, which he was viewing from the outside since in the dream he was a servant in a uniform, not part of the family. He felt himself standing in what looked like a garage and saw Sybil coming towards him, wearing the same beautiful black and gold dress she had been wearing that day. Clearly, she was a young lady of the house, but somehow that didn't seem to matter, since when she saw him her eyes lit up and she started to run, not stopping till she reached him. She took his hand, saying, "Oh Tom, I can't wait for us to be married and get out of this place!" After that, there were no more words exchanged between them – she reached up to put her arms around his neck as he pulled her into a kiss, which quickly deepened as Tom leaned her up against the car.

Tom woke up suddenly. He shivered - the dream had been so real, it felt like a memory from another life, another time. He looked down at Sybil – sound asleep in his arms, her cheeks were flushed and her hair was tumbling over them both. He could not remember ever seeing her look so beautiful and found himself whispering a line from an old song - "It will not be long, love, till our wedding day". Sybil stirred and wordlessly reached for him, taking the initiative as she often did to renew their previous night's exertions the next morning. As always, she took his breath away in the dawn light breaking over their bed, and his memory of the dream Sybil made her doubly alluring. Tom didn't even try to resist her and pulled her up so their lips met, sliding his hands down her enticing curves as he murmured - "Oh, so that's what's on your mind, is it, you minx..."

**The End**

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_A/N -_**  
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As I mentioned, this story was inspired by the beautiful, traditional Irish song "She moved through the fair". You might remember a lovely version on the _Michael Collins_ soundtrack, sung by Sinead O'Connor (check out youtube to see the clip). There are different versions of the third verse - of course this is AU so I took the interpretation of the last verse which implies he sees her in a dream.


End file.
